SOFIA: Ukraine has asked Bulgaria to repair some of its heavy military machinery at its arms plants, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on Thursday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskiy in Kyiv.

European Union and NATO member Bulgaria has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but is yet to decide on whether to send military aid to Kiyv, with one of the partners in Petkov’s four-party government opposing such a move.

“This is a genuine request, which I personally will present to the coalition council and I hope next week, when we will be voting in the parliament on military technical assistance to Ukraine, that it will be a key part of the package,” Petkov told reporters in Kyiv.

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Petkov’s centrist PP party and two other coalition partners are in favour of supporting Ukraine with military aid, while the fourth party, the Socialists, who have also opposed imposing sanctions on Russia, see it as a direct involvement in the conflict.

Bulgaria’s parliament is expected to approve the move with support from some of the opposition parties.